Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Risotto and a Smoothie

As I've mentioned before, risotto is one of my favorite comfort foods. I really wanted to make something with mushrooms tonight, but was a little stuck when I started to try to figure out a recipe. Mark suggested risotto, and I am glad he did. After what seemed like a pretty long day, I just wanted to eat something savory and creamy. This mushroom risotto hit the spot. For something crunchy and fresh, I made a salad of romaine, carrots, celery, cucumber, toasted pecans, and dried cherries. I topped it with a lemony garlic vinaigrette. This meal was filling and tasty.Mixed Mushroom Risotto with Peas-olive oil-1 onion, minced-3 cloves garlic, minced-1 lb. mixed mushrooms, chopped (I used button, cremini, and shiitake, but you can use whatever kinds you prefer)-1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped-1 1/2 cups arborio rice-3/4 cup white wine-4 cups mushroom stock-1 cup water-1 cup frozen peas-salt and pepper-1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

-In a small saucepan, heat the mushroom stock and water over low heat.-In a large pot, add a few tablespoons of olive oil and the onion. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until the onions start to look translucent.-Add the garlic, mushrooms, and thyme. Cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the mushrooms are tender.-Add the rice and cook for a minute, stirring, until it starts to crackle. Add the wine and stir until the wine is absorbed.-Add a ladle of the mushroom stock and water combination and cook, stirring very often, until the stock is absorbed. Continue this process, one ladle at a time, for about 15 minutes, you are almost out of mushroom stock, and the rice is just shy of tender.-Add the peas and your last ladle of stock to the pot. Test for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Ensure the rice is fully cooked; if it isn't, add a bit more liquid and cook for another few minutes. Add parsley to the risotto, stir, and serve.For an easy and healthy dessert, I made a green smoothie. I simply blended orange juice, vanilla soy milk, maca, spirulina, frozen peaches, and frozen mango in the blender until smooth. Yum! This was really satisfying. Even Nitro (one of our three cats) seemed interested!